Happiness: Making Our Escape

iman September 8th, 2008

Welcome to the first in a multi-part series on happiness.

So, apparently, its rather easy: Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3xH)

Some of the variables used by scientists in deriving this formula were health, financial stability, friendship ambitions, having a sense of humour and romance. If these, and other scientifically suggested criteria, are the basis of happiness, we are always going to be unhappy… always. At any given moment we aren’t…

  1. with family and friends,
  2. with lots of money,
  3. with perfect health,
  4. with a sense of humour,
  5. in cyberspace,
  6. living in Denmark,
  7. with an electrode brain implant, (?!)
  8. etc.,

…all at the same time. I would be incorrect in saying that these things don’t make us happy; they do, temporarily. But, why temporarily? Where do we run to when we have less money, when we are sick, when a family member or close friend isn’t there anymore? Do we just find another temporary escape? Enter sports, television, music, computer games. Again, these can bring about a  certain degree of happiness and, in moderation, there is probably no harm in them. Now let’s consider that these activities get boring after a while so on we go to another level; drugs, alcohol, pornography. Still alright? Addiction to these…still ok? This chain of events introduces dependency on the temporal and seems to shackle us to this world more and more. We can’t be truly happy.

…the more he becomes immersed in material progress, the more does his spirituality become obscured.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 106)

The soul is our reality, not the body. When the inevitable happens and we die, our body remains here and all our riches and embellishments stay with it.

True happiness depends on spiritual good and having the heart ever open to receive the Divine Bounty.

If the heart turns away from the blessings God offers how can it hope for happiness? If it does not put its hope and trust in God’s Mercy, where can it find rest? Oh, trust in God! for His Bounty is everlasting, and in His Blessings, for they are superb. Oh! put your faith in the Almighty, for He faileth not and His goodness endureth for ever! His Sun giveth Light continually, and the Clouds of His Mercy are full of the Waters of Compassion with which He waters the hearts of all who trust in Him. His refreshing Breeze ever carries healing in its wings to the parched souls of men! Is it wise to turn away from such a loving Father, Who showers His blessings upon us, and to choose rather to be slaves of matter?

God in His infinite goodness has exalted us to so much honour, and has made us masters over the material world. Shall we then become her slaves? Nay, rather let us claim our birthright, and strive to live the life of the spiritual sons of God.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 108)

What makes our reality happy is our efforts to draw closer to our Creator (subsequent posts will expound on this). And, though we may find this difficult at times, we can always rely on the fact that His infinite love and assistance are always accessible to us, if only we seek it.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

Tags:

5 Responses to “Happiness: Making Our Escape”

  1. # Alexander M Zoltai on 08 Sep 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Looking forward to your coverage of drawing closer to God.

    Having been a Baha’i for 20 years has been a real struggle–40 years of very mortal living preceded it–yet, the rewards have been substantial !!!

  2. # Audrey on 16 Sep 2008 at 5:58 pm

    Many thanks to you. To be in this world but not of it is an effort, often a great struggle, for me. I look forward with anticipation to reading your thoughts on this topic.

  3. # iman on 18 Sep 2008 at 1:56 pm

    Thank you both. I feel we all struggle with the same challenges in finding contentment. We are privileged, though, to have unfailing Guidance which we need to (but don’t always) trust and follow.

  4. # Erynn on 24 Feb 2009 at 3:48 am

    Thank you, Iman, for shedding light on this topic. I have recently found myself dissatisfied with my place in this world and am searching for direction and guidance. Looking forward to the continuation of this topic. :)

  5. # iman on 24 Feb 2009 at 8:52 pm

    Wishing you all the best on your search, Erynn. You can find all the subsequent posts on “Happiness” here:

    http://www.bahaiperspectives.com/tag/happiness/

Comments RSS

Leave a Reply